A Little Night Music
by RosRua
Summary: Written for the Blindfolded contest over on LJ KakaSaku Community. Lemon.


_A Little Night Music_  
Word Count: 8,757  
Rating: M. LEMON. Adult situations. Not for the faint of heart, nor the underaged.  
Thanks to my beta, Nathanomir ("the hub"), aka Jiraiya.

Naruto and all characters owned by M. Kishimoto. I do not own, nor receive any compensation, for this story.

_This was written for the Blindfolded contest over at the KakaSaku community on LiveJournal. We were assigned kinks to write about. My kink was erotic asphyxiation. WARNING: DONOT ATTEMPT THIS. It is extremely dangerous. People have died and can die, very easily, doing this. _

_Adagio_ – tempo having slow movement, restful and at ease

_Allegro_ – lively and fast

_Legato_ – slowly and smoothly

_Pianissimo – _very soft

_Vivace_ – lively and spirited

_A Little Night Music_

Sakura's heart lifted as she saw the gates of Konoha rise out of the trees. She dropped to the ground and walked the rest of the way, smiling in spite of herself. Wherever she went, she always enjoyed coming back home, to her own place, with her furniture and cheerfully decorated house, and…

Kakashi.

His mission was supposed to last longer than hers. She hoped it finished early. Sakura and Kakashi spent a lot of time together over the past couple of months. The Copy-Nin was getting under her skin. It didn't make sense. He still annoyed her, but not as much as Naruto or Kiba. The first one was a good-hearted pest, but kissing him had been like kissing her brother. The second one was a little too much like his partner, and was best smelled from a distance. Shuddering, Sakura scolded herself. Why did she think of her failed loves today of all days, and why did she compare them to Kakashi? She wasn't inexperienced with men. There had been more than several, not counting that damn Uchiha. She sighed, thinking, why do I attract men who aren't a fit or who need to be fixed? Sakura sighed again. Inside she knew she was ready for a relationship with the right person. Whoever that is; whatever that is. Well, she was home, and for now that was enough.

She dropped her mission report by Tsunade's office and her mentor conned her into staying long enough to discuss the results of the Suna research. Sakura fidgeted inwardly the entire time they talked, until she was able to escape. Really, she thought, everything I just told her, plus more, in detail, is in that report. She could have just read it! Her green eyes narrowed as she followed that thought up with an audible, "Tch!"

Sakura picked up a few groceries on the way home so her bare refrigerator wouldn't mock her with leftover crumbs. A few vegetables, some rice, miso and some fish in case Kakashi did show up. She learned to make decent broiled saury, his favorite, although she still didn't understand what he saw in the bland dish. Her mind drifted to their last conversation in her kitchen.

_Kakashi asked if he could borrow her shower since he came to visit her first instead of going right to his apartment. Sakura still wasn't sure why he did that, but at least her shower was clean, and she had a fluffy large towel freshly laundered to offer him. She was cooking the saury, when he emerged from the bathroom, hair still wet, pulling his shirt on. He wasn't shirtless by any means, but he caught her looking, and in his surprise, he slowed his movements just enough that Sakura caught a glimpse of Kakashi's toned torso as he finished his disappointing task._

_They said little about the incident, but she noticed that it stayed with Kakashi like it stayed with her. She would find Kakashi's eye on her, burning a hole in her back, and when she turned around, she saw him nonchalantly buried in one of Jiraiya's damnable books. The night before he left on his mission, she'd made him a going away dinner, just because who knew how many soldier pills he'd find the excuse to take, or when he'd get a square meal for two weeks. As she cooked, Kakashi leaned over her shoulder to reach down the bowls for their rice. He let his arm touch hers lightly, and glide across her shoulders. Sakura surprised herself by leaning back into his touch ever so slightly. Then, while the rice continued to cook, and in the 10 or 15 minute downtime they had before dinner was ready, Kakashi placed his hands on her shoulders and began to rub. _

_Kami, he gave decent backrubs. She'd received them enough during missions. This one was different. It was electrifying. His hands kneaded the knots out of her shoulders, then moved down either side of her backbone, and to the top of her hips. "Shhh," he whispered to her barely concealed reaction as goosebumps raided her reason. "Don't break the spell." Sakura swayed, leaning against the cabinets for support, trying to hide her elevated pulse and ignore the warmth and sudden sensitivity between her legs. She cursed her body's reaction, afraid to fully enjoy his ministrations but somehow unable to deny herself the pleasure. Kakashi finished the backrub, and drew his hands through her pink locks, playing with her semi-long hair and drawing it down her back. The space at her back was cool and she realized he had gone to set the table._

_They ate that meal in silence, neither one knowing what to say about what happened and both being a little afraid to face a possible negative response. But they shared not a few deep looks across the table and Sakura could tell Kakashi was trying to figure something out. When he left for the night, Kakashi leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. "Maybe we can talk when I get back," he said. _

"_Thank… thank you for the backrub," Sakura said. After he left, she slowly raised her fingertips to her forehead and stared at the door for a long, long time._

Hatake Kakashi's mind was treacherous. When not occupied with battle strategy, the color pink loomed everywhere, and green eyes tormented his dreams. Am I getting soft in my old age, he wondered, falling for my former student? He knew he wasn't desperate and he certainly wasn't without experience in the sexual arena. The twenty-two-year old Haruno Sakura occupied his thoughts more than he liked to admit. What was he doing, telling her they'd talk about it? What was 'it' anyway? Anything further than his unsanctioned and poorly thought out actions could greatly jeopardize this friendship. He trusted Sakura. He _liked_ her. The Copy-Nin readily admitted people were few and far between in his life, because he wanted it that way. He felt comfortable around her. If her reactions to him were any indication, she felt the same. This just might be worth exploring. The question was how would she feel? An exasperated sigh escaped him as he pushed his hand through his wild locks distractedly. He hated the unknown, especially when it had the potential to backfire.

Despite his misgivings, he found himself working his way to Sakura's apartment upon returning to Konoha. Maybe she would be asleep, saving him the embarrassment of trying to keep his wayward thoughts under wraps. She wasn't one to be pushed, or to take kindly to sudden surprises. The way he felt, amid his tiredness, if he wasn't careful he would take her in his arms and kiss her soundly in the doorway.

Wait, he thought. No, he most certainly could not see her tonight, not with his mind creating _those_ kinds of scenes. Sakura was anything but virginal; he had listened as she spewed over sake after several lowlifes had used her and dumped her. He was incredulous that she came to him that first time. Ino was out of town and he refused to leave her crying in her sake alone to get drunk and taken advantage of again. She was not Icha Icha come to life … though he bet they could have some interesting experimental trysts (_Sakura's legs slung over his shoulders, her feet and hands bound and her head arched back in ecstasy as he thrust_… yeah, this wasn't page 85 of _Tactics_! Get out of my head, Jiraiya!). He groaned inwardly. "You're screwed, Hatake. Before this – whatever it is - ever starts."

Later, his release in the shower, followed by cold water, didn't do anything to help Kakashi's frame of mind.

Sakura woke up early the next morning, grumpier than usual. Unable to sleep, she cleaned her apartment twice over to get the sexual tension out of her body. After that, wide awake, she went to the training grounds and since it was harder for her and not her natural style, practiced taijutsu until she was exhausted. She finally fell into bed and passed out around 3AM, then promptly woke up four hours later when the neighbor's tomcat canvassed the neighborhood loudly calling for courtesans. "I would get woken up by a damn cat," she groused. She made herself some hot tea, then decided to go for a walk and do some shopping since it was her day off.

Sakura bought some strappy stiletto heeled sandals and ankle-length slim black shantung silk pants at her favorite store. She also found a sleeveless black silk kimono-styled top with pink sakura blossoms embroidered from the left shoulder diagonally across the front, and trailing off the hip. A black choker with a delicate sakura blossom set off center and black dangle earrings with pink crystals at the ends completed her purchase. Experimentally pinning up her hair and scrutinizing the result in the mirror at her apartment later, Sakura wondered why she had bothered. "I won't wear this anywhere anyway," she muttered.

A loud knock at the door pulled an irritated groan from her. "Coming!" Sakura called. When she opened the door, Ino's face looked completely shocked.

"Forehead, eh, Sakura…!"

"Wait a minute, did you just call me by my name, Ino?"

"Yeah, because you don't look like the Forehead I know. You look, well, uh … stylish? What happened to you? Have you been reading _Konoha InStyle_?"

"Hello and welcome back and good afternoon to you too," Sakura snapped tartly, stepping back so Ino could come in.

"Do you have any tea? Because I am terribly thirsty," said Ino. "So, spill, girl, spill! What happened, who are you in love with, or mad at, did that Uchiha come back, did Naruto propose, does Kiba have fleas, do you have a thing for bugs now, do you like green tights, or what's going on?"

"Nothing, nobody, no one, he'd better not because I'll kill him, he did to Hinata, I'm sure he does, you've got to be kidding, oh hell no, and I'm not sure! Shut up, Pig!" Sakura huffed as she got iced tea for them both. "I don't know what you mean, and I fail to see how getting a complete new outfit and trying it on signifies anything," she grumped.

Ino eyed her craftily as Sakura sat down opposite her at the table. "Simple. You never buy anything, unless it's separate pieces to go with what you already have. And you hardly buy anything that is sexy or revealing," Ino explained.

"I fail to see what is sexy about this," Sakura protested. "I just liked it." Ino took in the plunging neckline of the top which just showed off the swell of Sakura's breasts and the pants which perfectly fit her slim figure, with cutouts that showed off her delicate ankles just above the killer heels.

"You just keep telling yourself that, girlie." Ino chortled, taking a sip of tea. "So, what's up with Mr. Hatake lately? What did you say to him?"

"I haven't seen him in two weeks," Sakura said. "What do you mean?"

"I saw him just now heading into a bar, in late afternoon," Ino said.

"Maybe he was meeting someone for lunch," commented Sakura.

"Maybe, but probably not, considering how conflicted his eye looked."

"Conflicted? Ino, what do you mean by _conflicted?" _Sakura demanded.

"What does anyone mean by that word? He looked like he was having an argument with himself, but also like he was something the cat – er, Akamaru – found, brought home and wouldn't touch. He looked terrible," Ino said. "Maybe we should happen to show up, you know, just in case he's in need of some friendly company," she suggested, gauging Sakura's reaction carefully.

"He just probably wants to be alone," said Sakura. "He wouldn't let his feelings show that easily."

"Look, I'm a Yamanaka, I just know things like this. I don't want to, but I do. And come on, who goes to a bar to be alone? They go to a bar to pick up a date or to get advice, or at least sit and have a quiet drink while being around other living beings while they nurse their feelings. You and I need to head over there. Let's go."

So saying, Ino was out the door, leaving Sakura sitting at the kitchen table and sighing at her friend's impulsiveness. Sakura picked up the clutch that she'd bought with her outfit and hurried after her.

When they arrived at the bar, Ino and Sakura saw Kakashi sitting at a booth in the back of the room. His face hovered over a familiar orange book and a small glass sat in front of him, with a straw in it. Ino and Sakura ordered tall pink fruity drinks and walked up to his table.

"Yo," Kakashi said somewhat slowly when he saw them, stirring as if his mind had been somewhere else.

"Mind if we join you? I'm supposed to meet someone here and Sakura came along to keep me company," Ino said.

Kakashi looked up at Ino, nodded once, then his eye widened as his gaze settled on Sakura. He'd never seen her look like that, sweet Kami, he thought. That outfit hugged her form in all the right places and she was more dangerously beautiful than he'd ever seen her. He had to be very careful tonight. Or was it still this afternoon? What is this stuff that the bartender gave me, he thought, looking at the nearly empty glass. It had the desired effect of numbing him up until now. Through the haze of the alcohol, he noticed every nuance about Sakura, from her unconscious sexiness to her breath lifting the material over her breasts. He wished he were sober. No he didn't. He was doomed.

"Sure," he slurred. "Have a seat."

"Kakashi, how do you drink through your mask?" Ino asked.

Kakashi's eye creased in his patented happy look. "Straw hole," he said, pointing to the obvious plastic appendage sticking out of his drink.

"You're drinking through a _straw?_" Sakura sputtered. "Don't you know you'll end up drinking more, faster that way? And what are you drinking, anyway?"

"That was the general idea," Kakashi murmured. "It was something the bartender recommended. Russian, I think."

"You're drinking vodka? You're not used to vodka. Is it mixed with anything? "

"More vodka?" Kakashi said.

"How many have you had, Kakashi?" Sakura asked, her med-nin senses kicking in.

"Oh, about four or five, I think." Kakashi said. "I'm fine."

"Oh, there is the person I was supposed to meet," Ino said. "I'll see you later."

"Hmph," said Kakashi. "That doesn't surprise me."

"Me neither," said Sakura. "Let's go. We should get you somewhere you can get some food in you. You're not used to this stuff."

"I'm fine, but I am hungry," Kakashi admitted, beginning to stand.

Sakura snorted. "Until you stand up," she said, as he swayed, and leaned on the table to support himself. "Here, put your arm around me," she said. At his surprised look, she hissed, "It will look less like you're drunk and more like we've naturally decided to leave together."

Kakashi put his arm around Sakura, thinking that his head and his body debated two different things. His head said this was stupid; it was as much shouting his intentions to the world. His body said to listen to the med-nin. He knew both were right, but what was he to do? So he did the only thing he could think of: gave her a crinkly-eyed smile and whipped out his trusty _Icha Icha Tactics. _

Sakura glared at him. "If you weren't eighteen sheets to the wind right now, I'd punch you so hard you would land in next year," she said through gritted teeth.

"Shhhh," Kakashi whispered. "If we act like we don't know that they know what we know, they won't know what we know. Get it?"

"No!" Sakura stage whispered.

"Underneath the underneath," Kakashi said, and they managed to walk out of the bar acting as if they hadn't a care in the world.

Until they reached the stairs to Sakura's apartment, things went well. Kakashi wasn't exactly up to the vertical challenge. He managed five stairs just fine before he leaned against the wall as his knees buckled. He looked up to the top of the stairs and mumbled, "climbing inside the Fourth's nose was never this much trouble. I didn't know they grew staircases this tall."

"Oh for crying out loud, Kakashi," Sakura said. "Here." She propped him up against the wall, and her hands began to glow green.

"Sakura, this is hardly the place," Kakashi began.

"Kakashi, one more word out of you and you won't ever have any opportunity in any place! Now be quiet and let me work."

After a quick five minutes, Sakura judged she'd removed enough of the toxic effects from the fusel oil in the vodka for Kakashi to be able to negotiate the stairs, but just barely. She was right. He climbed the stairs like he had been on back to back A-ranked missions. They reached the door, and he slumped against her while she fumbled for her key.

"Easy there, Kakashi, we'll get you inside. Just a minute." The door opened, and she helped him over to the couch. He fell down and was completely and utterly dead to the world.

"Great, just great. I go to the trouble to get dolled up for you and I find you in a bar drowning your sorrows, then I have to bring you home to my house to get you sober and feed you," she sighed. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Feed me and keep me?" the small but amused voice coming from the couch startled her. She turned and looked at him, glaring at his one exposed eye and woebegone expression.

"Damnit, Kakashi, you weren't supposed to hear that!"

"Which part, you getting all dolled up for me or the part where you couldn't figure out how to invite me home?"

"Okay, I know you're still drunk. Shut it while I finish getting the effects of that vodka out of your system."

"See, there are benefits to having my own personal nurse." Kakashi tried to sit up, but gravity again got the better of him and he almost fell off the couch.

"Hold on, Casanova. At this point you're greater in your mind than in real life," Sakura snickered.

"Hey, that's not fair," Kakashi protested. "You're taking advantage of an impaired man."

"And we will discuss that later, too," Sakura said. "For right now, I want you to _lay still or I will put you out where you will be still!" _Kakashi tried to glare at her with this one eye, but something wasn't working. All he could see was a cloud of pink hair and those gorgeous green eyes…

Sakura sighed as she straightened up and headed to the kitchen to start supper. She had finally given Kakashi a little push in the right place with her chakra, and he was out like a light. She hated to do that, but he made it difficult, continuing to flagrantly flirt with her while she was drawing the effects of the alcohol out of his system. Really, it was better this way. He might have some feelings for her, but she doubted he'd be happy with the way he was behaving, so she just gave his body the 'suggestion' to sleep for a good hour. Besides, he'd feel so much better when he woke up. And she wouldn't have to think about the innuendos he'd cast her way right before she put him under.

She was working on the rice, when she felt Kakashi's presence behind her and his hands on her shoulders, gently kneading. "I thought you might not mind a little déjà vu as an apology for all that before," he said.

Sakura turned around, with the spoon in her hand, and said, "don't you think we should talk," only to have the spoon taken from her hand and his hand gently covering her mouth. Her eyes widened fractionally. What was he…?

"We do need to talk," Kakashi said. "But before we do that, I need to do something else," and he leaned forward and kissed her lips with his masked ones. It was a short, sweet but firm kiss that said as much as it didn't. Kakashi drew back, studied her expression, and ran one of his fingers down the side of her face. Sakura remained impassive, staring at him like she didn't know him, her heart beating so loud she thought he could hear it.

"What, no threats to kick me into next week?" Kakashi murmured. "I would like to take tonight to explore whatever this is that we feel between each other. I've tortured myself over it for the past two weeks. I'm already going to hell for being attracted to my former student, so I might as well finish that up. And I just can't stay away from you," he finished.

"I… ah… Kakashi," Sakura finally managed to blurt out. "…feel the same. I don't know, though, I don't want this to…"

"Shhh, let's not complicate this. We can work out details later. Let's take this for what it is, tonight." So saying, he hooked his finger under his mask, intending to draw it down, only to find that Sakura's hand stopped his.

She took his hand in hers and looking seriously at him, said, "I need to know this is not just a one-night stand. I also need to know that this is not going to damage our friendship. I'd rather live the rest of my life having an intact friendship with you and wondering what might have been than risking it all on a fleeting jump of hormones."

At that moment, the rice timer chose to go off. "Well, it appears the food is in agreement with you," Kakashi said wryly.

After dinner, Kakashi helped Sakura clean up the dishes. Both of them were unnaturally quiet, she thought. As the minutes ticked by, her shoulders got tighter and tighter. She glanced over at Kakashi and saw that he was still, staring out the window, his expression unreadable. As she watched him, his eye came back into focus, and he looked at her, then down at the last bowl he was drying. "Let's go sit down," he suggested.

They sat on the couch, and Kakashi turned to Sakura, removing his hitae-ate and pulling down his mask. Watching her eyes get bigger, he explained, "What I'm going to say I want to say so that you can see all of my expression and intent. You've seen my face before in the hospital when you've had to heal it, so I don't think it's such a shocker anymore."

Sakura took in his face, young for its years, and noted the determined set of his jaw along with the slight grin on his lips. He could almost be rakishly handsome, she decided. His whole face fascinated her, the mismatched eyes, straight nose and just-less-than full lips and strong chin. Right now it was radiating seriousness, and something else that was hidden behind his eyes which she couldn't exactly define.

Kakashi wasn't sure how to say what he wanted, but he knew he had Sakura's undivided attention. "Focus, Hatake," he muttered to himself. He could seriously fall into those eyes if he wasn't careful and there was something here he wanted to protect more than he wanted to give in to his desires.

"You are very important to me, Sakura," he began, and winced. At her questioning gaze, he held up a hand and said, "No, I'm fine. Wait, no I'm not. I'm terrible at this. It's not a confession but I need your friendship like I need water and I'm not about to do anything to harm that." There, he'd blurted it out. Felt like a schoolboy, too. That realization came with the feeling of a blush creeping up his uncovered face.

"I feel the same way, Kakashi. And while I want to run around and rant and shout right now like I normally would, I can't. There's something about seeing you, like this, which keeps me from wanting to smash your whole face. So what do we do?"

Kakashi looked at her and smiled a shy smile. "We take it one day at a time, one minute at a time if we have to." When she didn't reply negatively, he took a slow breath and said, "now, I've wanted to do something for a very long time. Don't stop me this time." He leaned forward, and pulled her into a gentle embrace against him. He cradled her so that her head nestled in the hollow of his neck. Slowly she relaxed, leaning into him, as he stroked her hair, bending his head and burying his face in it.

"You always smell so nice," he said quietly. "Whenever I smell the scent of your shampoo it relaxes me like nothing else. That feeling has sustained me and haunted me both. I've wanted to give into this for the longest time, but have felt I would horribly mess this up."

He felt her stir in his arms, and loosened them. She turned her face to his and adjusted her position. Sakura simply said, "Now it's my turn." She grasped the nape of his neck, reached up and pulled him down to her in one movement. Soft lips ghosted along his; touching, hesitating, questioning. He let them lead for a bit; then he could stand it no longer, and began to kiss her back. Their kiss intensified in give and take, the legato of their first dance.

Sakura's hands wound their way into Kakashi's hair and pulled on it gently, alternately massaging his scalp. He deepened his kiss in response and felt her heartbeat increase, and her mouth open with a soundless gasp. Her reaction set fire to his already smoldering senses. Taking the invitation, he let his tongue gently caress across the most tender skin, tracing the silent 'o' as he felt her begin to tremble in his arms.

Kakashi's tongue in her mouth was an extension of his soul, warming, encouraging and stroking to life all of the feelings she'd been denying herself. Their kiss formed a deeper, but muted, conversation than either had ever given. She took her time studying the soft percussion of their lips; pulling away every so often to look at his face, caress it, and allowing his eyes to consume her before his "Ah, Sakura," plunged them both again into the exultation of exploration. She wanted more. He did too. The intensity of their embraces increased. Their kisses quickened. They became hungrier.

Somehow, the zipper on Kakashi's vest wouldn't stay closed, and he felt like he didn't need it anymore. As he shifted to remove it, Sakura's hands beat him to it. She threw it to the floor. Her hands played an allegro over his torso, wanting more intimate contact with the taut muscles underneath his jounin issue shirt. Her legs lay across his now, and he used his long arms to capture Sakura's foot and free it from her stiletto. As he leaned forward to liberate the other one, he felt her hands slide up his back underneath his shirt. He felt fire and ice all at once. Her hands tugged the fabric and he found that, too, was an unnecessary impediment between them.

One movement and Sakura straddled him on the couch, pianissimo touch exploring the spider web of scars across his chest and stomach. Kakashi's muscles quivered. His hands cradled her hips then worked their way up under her kimono top. He located the zipper at her back and pulled it down, allowing him better access to her electrifying skin.

"Here," Sakura said, in a breathless voice. She drew the garment over her head. His gaze met with calm intensity, her eyes burning emeralds.

Lightning sizzled as his finger traced a line from her chin, over her throat, through her cleavage and down her stomach, past her perfect bellybutton, to the top of her pants. Both hands reached up and around her back to release the clasp on her black lace bra. He inhaled sharply at the sight.

Kakashi thought her breasts looked larger, freed from her garments, than they looked in her clothes. Their fullness fit Sakura's height and build. Their perfection hung like two ripe, juicy peaches. (_Get out of my mind, Jiraiya, _he snarled. _Hatake, this isn't Jun. Remember that.) _Caressing her ribcage, he brought his hands under her breasts, supporting them gently, rubbing each with his thumbs until they began to swell in response and the nipples rose to meet him.

Their breathing became a duet as Kakashi lifted Sakura's hips and stood up from the couch. Carrying her gently, legs and arms wrapped around him, he walked to the bedroom.

He laid her down on the bed, and she settled back slowly, watching him with narrowed eyes and tempting lips. Now his hands unbuttoned and slid her pants off. He felt like he unwrapped a Christmas present. His eyes widened at the black lace thong she wore, which barely covered anything. "I bought it especially for you," Sakura said, shifting so that he would have room on the bed. "Do you like it?"

"For me? Then you thought …"

"I was hoping this would be possible," Sakura smiled.

Kakashi peeled off his pants. His black boxers didn't hide his rather obvious reaction. "I'd say yes, but to the whole package," he grinned.

As he removed his boxers, Sakura giggled mischievously. "I'll second that. Even though that was a rather delicious pun."

Kakashi's face transformed as passion flooded his soul. Sakura made as if to remove her thong.

"No, no," he said, wagging his finger at her. "That's my job."

Kakashi knelt over her and kissed her again, tasting spicy cinnamon and apple. His lips and tongue devoured her skin more thoroughly than he'd been able to before. Sakura moaned. Her hands played an overture in his hair, then stopped. She forgot everything as he trailed kisses below her breasts and down her stomach, skipping over the black lace and nipping lightly at her inner thighs.

Sakura leaned her head back and closed her eyes, moaning softly. Pleasure cascaded over her body as she catalogued all this new information. Kakashi was unpredictable; she never knew where his hands or lips were going to fall next. A hot lake threatened to draw her into its center. She wanted to drown in indescribable feelings. If he kept this up, those feelings would translate into uncontrolled audible noises.

Movement overwhelmed her. Her body rose and fell as he conducted; torso arching to meet his kisses, legs shying away from his touch, racing back to meet his hands. His mop of hair on her stomach was the finest silk or maybe plush velvet or mink. His teeth nipped her hip and lifted the strap of her thong. Sakura barely felt it. Kakashi pulled the thong down over her right hip. He repeated the action on her left. She felt herself shifted onto one hip as the thong fled the other side. He drew the garment slowly down her legs.

Silence. No movement.

Sakura peeked through her lashes. Kakashi knelt at the foot of the bed. He gazed at her as if she were a piece of rare artwork at a museum. His eyes lifted to hers: fiery, dangerous and containing something else in their depths. Sakura felt her pulse and breath increase at his very naked threat and unbridled sexuality. She felt like she jumped off a very high cliff into the crashing waves of Fire Country's ocean.

"Please forgive me. You are magnificent. You are the most breathtakingly gorgeous woman I have ever seen ," Kakashi said, his voice a hoarse whisper.

Then he lay beside her. He held her in his arms and looked down at her soberly. The kettledrum of their hearts grew louder.

"Are you sure about this?" Kakashi asked.

In answer, Sakura said, "I want to see underneath the underneath."

He leaned down to capture her in a kiss. Their bodies lay facing each other for the first time, closeness translating into the thread of sensual touch. His hand cupped her breast and his thumb circled the sphere, two, three times. His fingers made as if to hold her right breast, straight on, but lightly scratched from base to nipple. Sakura felt a surprised gasp ripped from her as she watched. He repeated the action, and her right hand was magnetically drawn down his left side and over his hip. She fully enjoyed his attention but it was time for her to run a few experiments of her own.

As her hand crossed his hip and moved to his upper thigh, Kakashi's hand on her breast stilled. He watched her face regard him as her hand firmly stroked the inside of his thigh and rose, following the curve of his leg. With a smile, she teased across the top of his groin with a slender finger to the other leg, making him shift and lift his left knee to give her better access to the bottom leg. Her thumb lightly caressed him at the root of his manhood. His breathing turned staccato. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back: _this felt so good, if Sakura wasn't careful, he would …_

A groan erupted from him as her light touch hovered over his scrotum and dove under it, lifting, pulling gently but firmly, holding his fullness in her hand. Two fingers massaged where it connected to his body. He felt transported to another world of sensation; one with a steadily building need he had to answer soon if she kept stroking his tightened sac.

Sakura smiled, absorbing Kakashi's movements and reactions. It pleased her to please him and she was surprised to find that her own reactions increased. She felt a touch on her mound as he shifted and placed his arm between their bodies, massaging the hair there and exploring further. He didn't even have to touch her labia for Sakura to know that the lake had come to the surface, and her mind ceased all rational thought as he tested the lake's waters by inserting his finger and gently moving it from side to side.

No one ever made her feel like this. She and Kakashi were still in the early stages of loving. Her mind reeled from the sensations. Her mouth opened in a surprised gasp as she felt the first lush strains of ecstasy. Kakashi's mouth broke over hers and his tongue mimicked the staccato of his fingers.

That's it, Sakura thought. She felt her control fraying. She moaned into his mouth. Her hips moved insistently closer to that penetration.

Kakashi lifted his head from hers. He saw the angel beneath him. Keeping his hand in place, he moved to straddle and bend over her. He exchanged his hand for his tongue. He smiled as her legs opened for him. Her noises and movements drove him nearly mad. He wanted to see her dive over the edge and crescendo gloriously into the deep before they joined bodies. He varied his movements. Allegro, then vivace. He found the little button and flap of skin and suckled on the delicacy, while using his finger on her again. The volume of her cries increased rapidly. The hands she used to alternately stroke his hair and grab his shoulders clawed them painfully as she hit her peak.

"Ka-ka-shi!"

Her drawn out shout was the sweetest music he'd ever heard. Shudder after shudder wracked her body. He slowed the tempo of his mouth and tongue, as Sakura's scream diminished into a dolce moan.

Completely smitten with the green eyed beauty he saw, he laid beside her propped up on his elbow. Sakura's damp hair fell on the pillow behind her, with a tendril across her face. She still panted and quivered on the mattress. A fine sheen of sweat covered her heaving breasts. Kakashi stroked the hair out of her face. He caressed her head and her cheek with a light touch. Sakura took his hand in hers and held it against her cheek. They stayed like that for awhile. Tears dripped on his hand.

"Sakura, are you crying?" he asked.

"I guess I am. No one has ever made me feel that way and it's so deep, I guess I don't know what else to do," she admitted.

"Well, let's do something to make you feel better then."

This time his kiss was deeper, electrifying, passionate. The passion Sakura thought ebbed out after her orgasm came flaring back with a vengeance, and she met his kiss with equal intensity. Their next movement, her pulling him, and him rolling to position himself over her, happened simultaneously, and both Sakura and Kakashi smiled with a shared joy as they acknowledged the fact.

He entered her. She enveloped him. They kept their eyes on each other's faces. Her eyes widened as she realized how completely he filled her. As he watched, emotions played through them like film on fast forward. Once he was deep in her, he stayed still.

"I've dreamed of this," he whispered in awe. The tangible reality of their union humbled them both.

Sakura hummed in agreement as she moved, her hips rising to encourage him. Kakashi complied. He realized with pleasure that her knees had risen to accommodate him more deeply, and her hands moved from the nape of his neck to the base of his spine and massaged him in downward strokes. Kami, Sakura knew how to excite him!

To answer her properly, he shifted her legs above his shoulders, so she was tilted at the most accommodating angle. He took one hand and placed it above her head, holding it there, as he went for the other one, placing it in the same position. "Let me know if you don't like this," he whispered.

Sakura's breath increased with every move he made. As he clasped both of her slender wrists above her head on the bed with one strong hand, she shook her head and smiled, "I'm good." She threw her head back as Kakashi increased his speed and depth of thrust. Even though she could still throw him through the back wall, there was something deeply stirring about granting him control – for now. She let the game go on a little.

Okay, she thought. My turn. She adjusted her body, dropped her feet off his shoulders and hooked her right leg behind his knee. She straightened her left leg and used the resulting imbalance to jerk her hands from his one. Now she flipped him over so that they were still connected but she was on top. Sweet success! She looked down at him and grinned, triumphant, as she sat up, in control now.

Kakashi's face was priceless. He looked concerned when she removed her hands from his, then momentarily discomfited when she flipped him on his back. His eyes narrowed, and his body tensed. Sakura, anticipating an overthrow, captured his hands and pinned them over his head, giving him a taste of his own medicine. She teased his lips with an open-mouthed kiss, staying as still as possible and drawing just out of reach when he lifted his head to come after her.

"No," Sakura growled. "You're mine now. My bed, my rules."

"Then I'm in for it?" Kakashi asked.

Sakura answered by shifting her hips slowly until she was at the point of completely dismounting. She aligned her body slightly and let her weight fall back on him, having the effect of a powerful reverse thrust. Kakashi groaned, and gritted his teeth when she again didn't move.

"You tease," he hissed.

"Patience, my dear, patience. All in good time," Sakura purred.

"You're enjoying this way too much," Kakashi said.

"And you thought I was vanilla?" Sakura smirked. "Hardly."

"I'm finding that out I thi – nk!" Kakashi's last word split as Sakura repeated the thrust. She began riding him in earnest, this time capturing his mouth and letting her tongue battle in a war of dominance with his.

Kakashi struggled to keep his mind clear. No one had ever commanded him so completely. While Sakura completely owned his body, his mind reeled from the sheer pleasure roiling outward from his groin through his limbs. He wanted to let go and let her do as she wanted, especially as he saw her beginning to give in to the intensity this particular position provoked. But he wasn't ready for things to end so soon.

She closed her eyes and threw her head back. He felt her grasp on his hands weaken. Kakashi saw his opening.

He moved his hips upward to meet her as she came down. Sakura's composure shattered as she felt him meet her at her innermost. Her body convulsed, goosebumps covered her flesh and she arched her back, holding Kakashi's hands in front of her like ski poles. A primal cry escaped her lips. Kakashi winced as she grasped his hands, hard, as the shudder tore through her body beautifully, but he refused to give over to mind-numbing elation. He had one more thing to do.

While Sakura recovered from the force of her orgasm, he turned the tables on her and now he lay on top as they landed sideways across the bed. She looked at him like she didn't mind being the receiver again. Sakura's head bent back over the edge of the bed and hung off into the empty space. He asked, "are you okay with your head like that?"

"I know what I'm getting into," Sakura said.

After reassuring him again, and lifting her head to give him a fiery kiss, Sakura crossed her legs over his back and all but pulled her body off the bed to meet his. That broke Kakashi's resolve, and, throwing his head back so that his silver hair flew away from his face, he returned her body's actions with more urgent, and deeper, ones of his own. Sakura's face became almost ethereal with passion as she rode a high, circling ever upward.

"Oh, God, Kakashi, I can't stand it," she finally choked out. The sensations were unlike anything she'd ever felt before, and she felt like she'd explode before she reached her peak. Then she began to drift and she still felt the ecstasy, but it was more like floating.

He was so close. So was she. Kakashi carefully watched her, as her head bent backwards off the bed at an unnatural angle. He could only see her chin and her mouth. The color in her neck and chin changed. What had been faint pink turned to red. Red turned purple. Kakashi saw Sakura's mouth widen into an almost unnatural cavern. His ears shook with the intensity of her scream. Her body convulsed underneath him. He felt her tighten around his manhood. She seemed to crush him. Damn, he thought. This feels good. She dug her fingers into his back.

Then … her fingers went limp … her hands fell to her side. I've read about this, Kakashi thought. He thrust his hand under her head and slowly lifted it until it was tilted toward him. He shifted them slightly so he could lay her head on a pillow.

"Sakura? Sakura! Can you hear me?"

"Take me home, Kakashi," Sakura whispered in rasping gasps. She wrapped her legs around him again. This time, they scaled the peak together as, he with a tremendous shout and Sakura with a beautiful groan-turned-scream, burst off the precipice, flew, and floated in time.

When Sakura recovered, Kakashi was sitting on the edge of the bed with his head in his hands. She rolled over and rubbed his back gently. "'Kashi? Are you okay?" Sakura asked. When he didn't reply, she curled around him so she could look up into his face. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"I could have killed you, Sakura. We never should have done that. It's only a miracle that nothing happened," Kakashi said.

"I already set in motion a stop gap to keep myself from passing out under erotic asphyxiation," Sakura explained. "It's something Tsunade taught me. You don't think that she didn't try that and worse, having that fling with Jiraiya, do you?"

Kakashi looked at her, eyes wide. "I had no idea. Well, that explains a lot of things in Jiraiya's books," he said. "I always thought it was in his own extra-perverted and over-imaginative mind - good reading though it was." He ignored Sakura's snort of laughter. "Somehow I'm not exactly surprised. Still," he continued, "that's something left to a one-time deal. I don't ever want to be the cause of almost hurting you that severely. You could have had brain damage even," he said.

"But I didn't. You didn't use a silk scarf, like he did, at least. Anyway, I'd like to focus on the positive aspects instead."

"Wait. You've read that one?"

"Sure. And I have plans for the others."

The others? Kakashi's mind threatened to overload at the thought of Sakura reading Jiraiya's books. He determined to find out more about that later, even as he said, "So, you'll keep me?"

"And feed you, and love you, and take you home."

"I thought I was home."

"So you are." Sakura kissed him, stood up and walked to the bathroom. "I'm going to clean up."

Kakashi watched her very nice backside walk away from him and thought if he was going to hell then he was really going to enjoy the trip.

When she walked to the kitchen, she found Kakashi in a dark grey and black yukata. He turned to meet her, holding two glasses of wine. "I hope you don't mind," he said. "I thought a glass of wine out on the balcony would be nice, but I believe you need to dress a little more warmly for that," he smiled, indicating Sakura's state of complete undress.

"That sounds nice," Sakura said, "and you're probably right."

As Sakura left to dress, Kakashi set both wine glasses down. It was a good thing she left when she did, he thought. Otherwise, she would have found herself in trouble again. He closed his eye as his mind replayed the delicious torture of her screams and moans for him.

"Ah, I like my life."

The murmured statement was barely out of his mouth when he felt satin clad arms snaking around his body and her small hands tug teasingly on the belt of his yukata. Kakashi turned around with a laugh and captured Sakura, bringing her hands to his lips in a warm kiss. "You're incorrigible. Our wine will never get drunk if we keep this up," he said.

"I can handle that kind of drunk," Sakura laughed lightly, "but I need to recover. I think my body is still drunk from our loving."

Kakashi put his arm around her as they walked out to the balcony and sat on the bench. The moonless night was clear and the sky was full of stars. Sakura snuggled into him with her knees drawn up beside her as they sipped their wine. Her sigh made him look down at her.

"So what do we do now, Kakashi?" she asked. "How do we live with this? People are going to talk, are we ready for that?"

"Does that really bother you, Sakura? You're twenty-two and can make your own decisions. They've certainly talked enough about me over the years; I'm used to it, but I know how bad the gossip can be in this place. Although, we've probably already caused enough gossip with the level of your screams," he chuckled.

Sakura glared at him. "I just want to live our lives in peace. And I was only screaming because someone was making it damnably hard to have a nice quiet little lovemaking," she teased. "But what do you want? What is this between us? How do we define it, and how do _you_ want to define it?" She stopped, her heart in her mouth. This was the crux, really. Kakashi was famous for not wanting involvement of any sort. She would be happy to walk around town, hand in hand, and damn the gossip. She wanted to stay with him forever. She realized she was and had been in love with him for a good long while. She hoped the feeling was returned.

Kakashi was silent. His body stiffened as she spoke. Her words drew the common response from him, and he hated himself for it. He knew he needed her more than breath, but was he willing to make that public, to share part of his private self with the world? He frowned. What was commitment anyway, and why should he care what others thought?

Sakura let Kakashi think. She knew her heart now and she would accept his decision, whatever the outcome.

Kakashi cleared his throat. "I guess I made more of a declaration earlier tonight than I thought," he said quietly. He turned to look at Sakura. "You know how I've lived my life. Alone. Preferring to be private. Retreating when anyone got too close. Never letting anyone into my private life."

Sakura's widened as she listened, and her heart skipped a couple of beats.

Kakashi continued, "You have always been there for me, putting me back together, from the time you were a child. I think your talents as a med-nin were what encouraged me to trust you. Then I found out there was far more to the girl under the uniform. We became friends instead of teacher and student or merely comrades. I thought my fantasies of you were something borne of reading Jiraiya's books – that porn was in my blood," he confessed. "Tonight I realized that loving you was the denouement to our relationship," he whispered.

Several moments passed. He lifted his head, which had dropped during his last admittance. His eyes burned as he spoke hoarsely.

"I love you, and I'd rather die than be without you. I don't care who knows that."

The words hung on the balmy evening air. Sakura felt them swell around her, enveloping her like the sonata of his embraces. She still stared at him, her mouth slightly agape.

Kakashi watched her, his emotions trying not to run away with his sense. He knew it took time to absorb words as life changing as water over centuries that carved rocks into massive mountains. Stars shifted above them in their celestial positions. Still he waited.

Sakura absorbed his words. She knew he'd admitted more to her than to anyone about anything in perhaps his entire life. She didn't want to cheapen it by reacting quickly. Her skin tingled as she listened to him with increasing elation. Yes, her heart echoed his.

"Kashi?"

Sakura's voice whispered through the halls of time in his mind, teasing him back to the present. His face looked hopeful – and guarded.

"I love you," Sakura said.

Those three words gave him life like three beats make a waltz, he thought. What fascinating power of individual parts combining to create a new and beautiful form. Kakashi felt their power surge through him. Sunlight breaking through clouds was an apt metaphor for how he felt.

A satisfied sigh escaped him as she embraced him and they held each other tightly.

"Whatever comes, don't let me go?" Sakura asked.

"Whatever comes," Kakashi agreed soberly, and sealed their new symphony with a kiss.


End file.
